Pepe Le Pew removed from ‘Space Jam 2’ following ‘rape culture’ accusation

283696 01: Looney Tunes character cookie jars are on display at the Warner Bros. Studio store October 23, 1996 in New York City. The store, originally a three floor specialty store, has been redesigned into a nine floor department store with a cafe, interactive attractions, and a screening facility for computer animated 3-D Looney Tunes cartoons under the sponsorship of Michael Jordan. (Evan Agostini, (Photo by Evan Agostini/Liaison))

The controversial cartoon skunk Pepé Le Pew has been cut from the upcoming “Space Jam” sequel, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

According to the report, the news of Pepé Le Pew’s removal from the film comes following a New York Times opinion piece in which the Looney Tunes character was said to have “normalized rape culture.”

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According to The Hollywood Reporter, the decision to remove Pepé Le Pew from “Space Jam: A New Legacy” was made more than a year ago.

Pepé Le Pew is described by The Hollywood Reporter as a lovestruck French skunk whose “unwanted advances — usually toward a black cat that accidentally got a white-painted stripe — were often forceful.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pepé Le Pew is not featured in any current Warner Bros. TV projects and there are no current plans for his character to return.

Word about the cartoon character emerges as the decision to discontinue the publishing of some Dr. Seuss books for their racist imagery also was announced.


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